CHAPTER 34: THE FUNERAL

When Lewis heard the word funeral, his whole aura changed.

His expression darkened, and a heavy silence fell over him. He didn’t answer right away he just sat there, frozen like his wolf had stopped breathing.

Then, slowly, he forced out one single word.

"Alright."

The way he said it...

It was like the word hurt his chest.

His hand tightened on the armrest of his wheelchair, his knuckles turning white from the pressure. I stood there quietly, watching him. For the first time since I came into his life, the calm and steady Alpha I knew looked like he was close to breaking.

His back was turned to me, but his voice was low and firm.

"You should go get ready."

"Okay," I whispered.

I took a few steps toward him, wanting to help him back into his chair, but he lifted his hand in a sharp, quiet gesture an Alpha’s silent command.

"There’s no need," he said. His tone was neutral, but I could feel the weight underneath. Pride. Pain. Maybe both. He didn’t want me to see him struggle.

"Alright," I murmured. "But... please be careful."

He didn’t respond. After a long moment, he added, "I had a room prepared for you."

My eyes softened. "Thank you."

He said nothing more.

I slipped out of the room and closed the door quietly behind me.

What I didn’t see was the way his hand stayed clenched on the armrest or the single tear that slid down his cheek and fell onto his sleeve.

..

The room he’d given me was part of what used to be his walk-in closet. It had been turned into a small private living space, cozy and well-heated. Half the wardrobe was filled with women’s clothes.

A strange ache touched my chest.

Lewis might look cold to the world...

But inside, he wasn’t heartless at all.

The sound of running water drifted from the bathroom. He had wheeled himself into the shower. That simple sound made everything sink in.

From now on... we were living under the same roof.

Funny enough, I’d never even lived with Julian, even though we were promised to each other for years. The only night we had ever been truly close was that one night over a year ago.

A night filled with alcohol.

A night where I thought he finally wanted me.

I got pregnant.

My first time.

Filled with hope... and pain.

Nothing about that moment had been love.

It was desperation. Fear. A foolish wish to be chosen.

But things were different now.

Lewis and I were mates by pack law. Bonded. Legally tied. Whether or not the bond was real yet, the title changed everything.

Lewis didn’t need help, even with his injured legs. He handled everything with quiet Alpha strength.

When he finally came out of the bathroom, I almost didn’t recognize him.

He was clean-shaven, dressed in a sharp black suit, white shirt, and dark tie. His hair was combed back neatly. He looked like the Lewis Hale everyone in the pack feared controlled, composed, unreadable.

But his face...

His face was pale.

There was no warmth in his expression. Only an empty coldness that carried the weight of grief.

He glanced at my white coat.

"Change into black," he said, his tone clipped and distant.

I nodded. "Alright."

It didn’t matter what I wore.

Tonight, I was attending my own funeral.

I changed into a simple black dress and wore a thin black veil. It fell over my forehead and hid the small red mark that would have given me away.

The cold air outside bit at my skin, so I slipped on black gloves. My heels clicked softly as I walked toward the car waiting outside.

This new identity Riley Ashbourne had given me a strange sense of freedom.

No more living for Julian.

No more being the perfect Luna-to-be for a pack that never truly wanted me.

When I was a Morrigan, everything revolved around someone else’s needs.

Even Jeffrey used to parade me around at pack gatherings, proud and smiling.

"This is my granddaughter-in-law," he would say.

How ironic.

Now I would watch them mourn me.

Watch who cried real tears...

And who silently celebrated my disappearance.

For years, being called Mrs. Hale felt like a chain around my neck tying me to Julian, to duties, to a future I never chose.

But fate played a strange game.

Because now without ever chasing the title I had become the real Mrs. Hale

Strangely, the name Mrs. Hale didn’t feel heavy on me anymore.

Instead, it felt... freeing.

Like a chain had quietly snapped inside my chest.

As those thoughts ran through my mind, the car slowed to a stop outside the funeral grounds.

Through the tinted window, I saw a long line of luxury cars. Pack leaders, business alphas, old families... all gathered here.

I never thought my own funeral would look like a Luna’s farewell.

Rain mixed with snow. The whole sky was crying for someone they believed was dead. The air was cold and sharp, but to me... it felt alive.

I slowly pulled off my black leather gloves and lifted my hand outside the window.

Cold raindrops touched my palm. Snowflakes melted on my skin and ran down my fingers.

Dressed in black, I walked beside Lewis, who sat quietly in his wheelchair. My black lace veil hid most of my face and hid the red mark on my forehead that could expose everything.

Inside the memorial hall, the scent of fresh flowers hit me hard. Chrysanthemums. Hydrangeas.

My favorites.

Someone... remembered.

Someone who never cared when I was alive.

How ironic.

My photo sat in the center of the room.

Eighteen-year-old me.

Smiling like the world was simple.

Like love was real.

Like family was safe.

I didn’t know life would rip all of that away.

Then I saw her.

Mrs. Morrigan my birth mother.

Dressed in black, makeup ruined from crying, shoulders shaking. She looked so much older. The cold, proud woman I used to know was gone. In her place was a broken wolf mother mourning her lost daughter.

But my heart felt nothing.

Years of coldness and rejection had killed that bond long before my death did.

I turned my eyes away... and found the one person who had ever loved me without conditions.

Lena.

I leaned down to Lewis and whispered, "I want to speak with her."

He nodded once. "Go."

I moved through the crowd as silently as a wolf in the forest.

When I reached Lena, I gently linked my arm with hers.

"Mom, what are you thinking about?"

She looked up at me with red, swollen eyes. The sight broke something in me.

She whispered, "I just saw Mrs. Morrigan crying her heart out. She lost her daughter. I can’t imagine that kind of pain. Even if she wasn’t good to you... losing a child is the worst thing for any mother."

I smiled softly. "You have a kind heart, Mom. You always do."

We stood together and watched the woman who raised me fall apart in front of my picture.

Even though it felt like watching a stranger’s grief, I stepped forward. Slowly, I took out a clean handkerchief and offered it to her.

"I’m so sorry for your loss, Mrs. Morrigan."

She looked up. Eyes swollen. Breath shaking. She reached out to take the handkerchief

and the moment her fingers touched mine, she froze.

Her eyes widened. Her lips parted.

The handkerchief slipped from her trembling hand and fell to the floor.

For a heartbeat, we just stared at each other.

Then she lunged forward and wrapped her arms around me, sobbing.

"Elena... Elena! You’re alive! You’ve come back to me!"

She cried against me like a wolf who had lost her pup.

But I didn’t hug her back.

Gently, I placed my hands on hers and pried them away from me.

"I’m sorry," I said softly, voice steady. "You must be mistaken. My name is Riley Ashbourne. I’m not your daughter."

Her face collapsed. Pain, confusion, shock it all hit her at once.

I turned back to Lena, slid my arm through hers again, and held on tightly.

"See?" I whispered with a small smile. "My real mom is right here."